“It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest serving President.

“Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century. A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation.

“While a controversial figure, both Mr. Castro’s supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people who had a deep and lasting affection for “el Comandante”.

“I know my father was very proud to call him a friend and I had the opportunity to meet Fidel when my father passed away. It was also a real honour to meet his three sons and his brother President Raúl Castro during my recent visit to Cuba.

“On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and many, many supporters of Mr. Castro. We join the people of Cuba today in mourning the loss of this remarkable leader.”

At this time of Fidel Castro’s passing, we extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people. We know that this moment fills Cubans - in Cuba and in the United States - with powerful emotions, recalling the countless ways in which Fidel Castro altered the course of individual lives, families, and of the Cuban nation. History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him.

For nearly six decades, the relationship between the United States and Cuba was marked by discord and profound political disagreements. During my presidency, we have worked hard to put the past behind us, pursuing a future in which the relationship between our two countries is defined not by our differences but by the many things that we share as neighbors and friends - bonds of family, culture, commerce, and common humanity. This engagement includes the contributions of Cuban Americans, who have done so much for our country and who care deeply about their loved ones in Cuba.

Today, we offer condolences to Fidel Castro's family, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Cuban people. In the days ahead, they will recall the past and also look to the future. As they do, the Cuban people must know that they have a friend and partner in the United States of America.

"Today, the world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades. Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.

"While Cuba remains a totalitarian island, it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve.

"Though the tragedies, deaths and pain caused by Fidel Castro cannot be erased, our administration will do all it can to ensure the Cuban people can finally begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty. I join the many Cuban Americans who supported me so greatly in the presidential campaign, including the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association that endorsed me, with the hope of one day soon seeing a free Cuba."

Comments

Thank you JAMIEMACMASTER for a key synopsis of the Canadian political scene today… You are indeed “right on the money”… And yours has been my observation of Canadian politics since I became a citizen way back in 1956 – “political refugee boy from Eastern Europe” – and it hasn’t changed much since… This is a country much blessed by natural resources to keep it on the front burner of international trade and commerce; and protected by the military shield of the United States since the 1950s, and, more or less catering to socialist platitudes of the UN variety ever since under whichever government… Until our noses are directly bloodied, the majority of Canadians don’t get off their pots but talk a good fight…. That is about to change… Come noon, January the 20th, 2017, Canadians are going to get their noses bloodied again on the international scene by their Big Brother the United States, and a lot of us are going to be running to the shitter, especially in Ottawa and Eastern Canada…

You’re absolutely right Jamie… It’s very hard to get people off their backsides and out doing something to change the situation.
There’s a book written back in the 1900s called nine meals to anarchy and it explains how complacent people can be in until they’ve missed nine meals.. that’s when the kids are hungry they’re crying everybody’s hurting it’s all misery. your neighbors are suffering the same thing that you are everybody’s in the streets wondering what’s going on…
Maybe that’s what it’ll take to inspire the keyboard warriors to get out from behind their computers and do something that’ll make a change… I sometimes wondered if these forms were created for us to blow off steam as supposed to go out and do something that’ll make a difference instead of bitching and complaining anonymously behind a computer screen at accomplishing nothing..

You got that absolutely right, LEVITICUS. Since 2004 myself and others in the Ontario Landowner movement tried to get rural people to fight against the avalanche of legislation and regulations that were {and are} choking the life out of them.

The original blockades of Hwy 401 and Queens Park that we organized back in 2004-05 met with some success because the numbers were there. But the governments (federal and provincial) quickly realized that the commitment of the majority of the participants to getting the state off their backs was “a mile wide, but only a millimeter deep”. And they were quickly bought off with promises of cheques for BSE losses and “commitments” to risk management plans. So as we continued to organize protests against the property rights incursions of the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the OSPCA, and food safety regulations, the no-show lists got longer and longer.

I’ve heard all the excuses: I agree with what you’re doing, but not the way you’re doing it; I’d like to have been there, but I was just too busy; tractor wouldn’t start; etc, etc. Oh, and the number one classic: Well, it doesn’t really affect me.

And just when it was needed least, along came blogs and forums and facebook and twitter – which provided the Faint Of Heart with the opportunity to become true warriors…of the keyboard variety – proffering useless advice and threatening the heavens. All behind the shield of anonymity, of course.

You can pick any one of the following categories, but when it comes to getting angry and taking real action, the majority of Canadians fall into one or more of the following categories: yellow; ignorant; selfish (it’s not really affecting me); lazy/comfortable.

Jamie mcMaster said
“Can’t be done, Leviticus. Not in Canada. Canadians won’t stand up and speak out. Doesn’t matter who you have for leader.”-———————
Well there you have it from a real authority on Canadian people…!!!
I hate comments of negativity when one person speaks for everybody in Canada… Kind of like Justin Trudeau when he was giving his eulogy for Castro when he said “on behalf of all Canadians.” bla bla bla…

Or in the west we could just separate… It seems that the Maritimes and the Atlantic provinces have had a long-standing love affair with the liberal administration as well as Quebec and Ontario…
In the west we are rich in natural resources with a “Git er done” attitude. As an independent nation we already have the ability to handle our own internal affairs as well as the skills and knowledge to bring our resources and our know how to the international market.
In effect we receive nothing and need nothing from the east and for far too long the idea of keeping Canada together as romantic notion is no longer viable… For far too long we have had to suffer the bullies and dictatorships that we have as a result of our two most populous provinces deciding how we in the west would be treated in “club Canada”
If the Atlantic and Maritime provinces were to become fed up with the policies from Ontario and Quebec they would stand very well by themselves as they would be supported by fishing and warm water ports as well as industry agriculture and mining..
Nobody really needs upper and lower Canada West or east and especially we do not need any more policies dreamed up and created by this narcissistic communist monkey traitor who specific goals in mind are to bankrupt and recolonize our once great nation and then handover our sovereignty to the UN.

The quote Leviticus 2013 – “Maybe a leader will arise that will inspire us, but hopefully that happens soon before this little monkey is firmly entrenched into our future.!”…. And therein lies the problem – there is no leader evident right now in conservative Canadian ranks to “inspire us”… We do have professional politicians, poseurs, blow hards, one-topic ninnies, appeasers, and tap-dancers… But we do not have anybody to really inspire us… People instinctively recognize when such a voice comes onto the national scene – like Trump in the US – in Canada we, for now, are bereft….

Somebody earlier in this post asked of Trump really said all that so I went and looked it up on CBS News and absolutely he did say that.. and incidentally he has the support of Cuban-Americans.
They have Trump fighting for their freedom and we have the second-generation communist fighting to bankrupt and enslave us.

Thanks for the video link Darrell… I went to have a look at it but as normal it doesn’t open right because the operating systems and my phone are obsolete and I refuse to get a new one based on general principles…
I did however remember seeing an article that the rebel did with that liberal woman in the blue suit and I couldn’t help but notice the true North strong and free Canadians flanking her to the left and to the right who I’m sure hold nothing but the greatest interest of Canada and Canadians in their political agenda’s..
Canada is an embarrassment and I’m ashamed to call myself Canadian. $25 million to kill more women and children… Unbloody believable and it’s my money that’s paying to do it… I wish we as citizens had a greater say and how our money was being spent after it had been stolen..!!

Well, Leviticus 2013 – maybe you need to watch the following vid and see if your temperature reamins calm:http://i-supportisrael.blogspot.ca/2016/11/breaking-news-canada-gives-25m-to-hamas.html
I think we all are all past the “protesting” point – harsh changes often require harsh actions!
It’s just one Treasonous action after another – all the while a good % of us are at or near the verge of loosing 50 – 60 years of good honest work. We still have a politician knob gobbler running the RCMP – if the RCMP were truly honest men – there would be some really heavy charges laid against these Tyrants! Do people need to witness a police state type ultra-military action against a whole of us before everyone wakes up?!? Damn near everything this PM POS does is Treasonous!

Trudeau wasn’t thinking of the rest of Canada with his message, he was thinking of his Mother (who idolized anything or anyone who represented danger or power), his Father, his brothers and him. No one else.
Proves, he can’t separate his personal beliefs from the office he holds…and they say religion and state should be divided.

As we don’t have cable anymore, my wife and I decided to watch today’s Grey Cup at our local legion. Had a great time; even a turkey supper with all the fixings. While there we decided to become members. According to the membership application, I discovered that Justin Trudeau would be prohibited from becoming a member of the Canadian Legion because one of the requirements was to declare that one was not, among other things, a communist!

Trump has written the most touching message of all 3. Truthful and also compassionate. How can we have such a blind Prime Minister? He does not deserve nor is he capable of running our country. I would not even use naive, I would say stupid, ignorant and to dare to do it the names of Canadians that is the worst insult. Get him out before he ruins foreign relations, the country and our economy!

Well spoken Judy anonymous… Now we all seem to be agreeing on the same thing that this little monkey is a tyrant worshiping evil little prick who is narcissistic views echo his fathers..
How do we organized enough people add promote a series of nationwide strikes until he backs down, and who wants to take that responsibility.. Myself I would do that and risk the consequences as I haven’t got anything to lose but however I am not a charismatic leader with enough charm to convince mainstream Canadian people that our way of life and our culture is in danger.

Trudeau Jr. is just reminiscing of the good old days when commie Daddy and the Dictator were such good buddies…and Canadian taxpayers helped keep the old tyrant in cash. Justin is a naive child, who romanticizes evil and cruelty because his father taught him to believe in socialism and radical dictators. That is why China is so admired by Justin…because of “its basic dictatorship”… there you have it…he admires it and was raised to put communist dictatorships among his cherished memories. Meanwhile women doctors in Cuba have to literally prostitute themselves to make ends meet and the black market is rampant. Armed guards are everywhere and the grocery stores have almost empty shelves. One can only imagine the thousands who languished in Cuban prisons, who were tortured and who were killed by their own government for daring to disagree. One can also imagine the desperation, the fear, the terror that caused many to try to escape only to drown in the waters before they could get to Florida…the decades of hopelessness, loss, grief and mourning… Trudeau is a teenage groupie…a childish dreamer, like his dad…dangerously naive and romantic in the face of evil. Castro didn’t serve his people, he ground them into the dust, used them and abused them. There was nothing larger than life about him…he was “a little man, a silly man, greedy barbarous and cruel”…an idealist who couldn’t let go of his ‘idea for revolution’ because he couldn’t admit what a failure his life and his revolution had been. These days we are faced with smiling fascists around the world in many democratic governments waiting their time and they seem to be the most charismatic…beware!

Jan G… This little monkey worships dictators so I don’t think a petition would be much more to him than something to wipe his ass with… No he must physically be removed from office.
Even if he was pushed out of office by popular vote I got a feeling he just wouldn’t move. He would be like the leftists protesting Trump thinking he could get his own way if he held his breath long enough after all that worked on mom..

Trudeau’s comments make my stomach turn. Harper would have either stayed silent, like the Brits, or put his distaste in an eloquent, diplomatic “good riddance,” like he did when Chavez died…
“At this key juncture, I hope the people of Venezuela can now build for themselves a better, brighter future based on the principles of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.”